HRWiki:2009 Fall Fundraising Drive

From Homestar Runner Wiki

It's that time again. Since we can't legally sell any products or advertising space on the site, a fundraising drive is the only way for us to afford the cost of our dedicated server lease and bandwidth charges. This fundraising drive will be held from September 1 to October 31, 2009.

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Hosting costs on our dedicated server are approximately US$940 per quarter, but FellowSites has been bringing in around $292 of that (see "How else may I help?" below for information about FellowSites), so we need to bring in at least $648 in donations every three months to stay afloat. Additionally, we currently have an outstanding balance of $200 on last quarter's server invoice and this quarter's invoice in the amount of $840 was due on September 5. Lastly, the wiki paid roughly $100 this year on domain registration (the wiki and FellowSites own a total of six domain names, and typically we register them for two years at a time), which had a relatively small but nevertheless significant impact on our bottom line. A detailed statement of our current financial situation is available at our ledger.

Considering all the factors above, we'd like to raise US$1,700 in this fundraising drive. With this amount, we should have enough to pay our currently outstanding invoices and cover server lease costs until March 2010, plus hopefully have a little bit of buffer in the account at the end of the half. Although $1,700 is a lot of money, please don't feel obligated to donate large amounts just to reach our goal. If only 170 users donate US$10, we'll raise the entire amount. We currently have over ten thousand registered users on the wiki. Even taking into account that many of these are vandals or sock puppets, it's a safe bet that at least 170 are actively using or contributing content to the site. If you use the site often, US$10 is a small amount to ask for six months. If you are a power user (you know who you are), US$20 is still quite a reasonable amount.

The most convenient means of donating to the Wiki is through PayPal — it can be handled quickly online for only a small handling surcharge. Click on the link corresponding to your local currency from the list below.

United States Dollars

European Union Euros

British Pounds

Canadian Dollars

Japanese Yen

Australian Dollars

Donating via PayPal will deduct a surcharge of 2.9% plus US$0.30 from the total amount transferred. Please take this into account when you send your donations (After surcharges, $10.61 = $10.00; $20.91 = $20.00, and $51.80 = $50.00).

Alternatively, you may send checks or money orders through regular mail. Since the Homestar Runner Wiki isn't legally incorporated, please make donations payable to Joey Day. You may mail donations to:

JOEY DAY
117 WAYFIELD DR
DRAPER, UT 84020-7972
UNITED STATES

If you are sending a donation from outside the United States, please remember that an international money order or check (cheque) payable to a United States bank would be appreciated. This is to avoid collection costs, which can be in excess of US$50. International postal money orders payable in the United States are available in post offices in many countries and will ensure your complete donation goes to the Wiki. Please do not send currency through the mail.

Please note that any donations are likely not tax-deductible, either in the United States or other countries, because the Homestar Runner Wiki is not registered as a non-profit organization. Please check with your tax advisor to obtain more information.

To recoup some of our server cost, we also offer a website hosting service on our server called FellowSites. If you're currently paying to host a site, we would encourage you to switch to our service. You'll be supporting the wiki and we might even be able to save you some money. To find out more about FellowSites, check out the website or contact us.

Of course, you are under no obligation to donate or host a website with us. Please feel free to continue using the site even if you're unable to help out financially. Just being a member of the wiki and supplying content or helping to clean up articles is more than enough contribution in itself.

To those who donate and to those who contribute to our community in other ways, we are grateful for your support.